Yeah but he has been less than a major league average starter after signing a major contract. He failed at living up to the contract. A prospect becoming a major league average starter cant be considered a bust, since he successfully went from minor leaguer to major league starter.

One of my major beefs with sports radio hosts if their constant penchant for labeling all comments on a player as extreme. Back in the day, if a caller said they liked what Podsednik was bringing to the line up, they would be ridiculed for “wanting to put him in the Hall Fame!” Express concern over a player and you want to “designate him for assignment!”

So with that out of the way...of course I don’t think Moncada should be judged until at least a full season of AB’s. But...

I feel this franchise has been snakebitten the last decade or so. Moves that - at the time - seemed good to-great-to at least-serviceable on paper blew up in our faces in spectacular fashion.

The Danks contract.
Beckham.
Dunn
LaRoche.

So many more.

Moncada by all accounts is as close to a can’t miss prospect as they come. And, were I a betting man, I would wager he becomes a cog on a Championship team.

But I’d be lying if I wasn’t worried - as irrational as that may be. Worried because of the ghosts of White Sox past. Worried at all the strikeouts. Worried that my “excitement” over his at bats has now morphed into casul concern.

Annoyed that for ****ing one time we can’t have the young hotshot talk-of-the-game superstar actually producing at the major league level

I know I’m nuts, but maybe that’s what being a fan of this team the last ten years does to you.

Moncada plays every day: he either starts the trajectory upward or he flames out.

Either way you have to know this season.

__________________
“There were a few hard rules, but everybody was unique, and he understood that. George’s great strength was he didn’t overcoach. There’s no place for panic on the mound.” - Jim Palmer on George Bamberger “Arms and the man,” Sports Illustrated, April 19, 2004

Sanchez can hit first for the time being, if Moncada continues to slump.

Right now, Moncada can't wait back on anything offspeed.

I always found it odd that they were hitting him leadoff. Yeah, he can run and hit (or so we've been told), but if your bat is your better weapon, it would be better to hit lower in the order. Personally, I feel like Sanchez is a perfect candidate, and his two RBI triples in this last game helped his case. If Engel could do as much at the plate as he does in the field, I would have nominated him instead.

Or maybe Yoan is just going through what Alexei always did, which was struggle until the weather warmed up. If that's the case, you can't put him at the top of the lineup. Speed is fine, but the idea of a leadoff man is to get on base and set a tone for the rest of the lineup. What good is Yoan's speed if he's not able to use it on the basepaths? At a time when OBP is being emphasized more and more, every manager should be thinking about this. Hopefully, the thought has at least crossed Renteria's mind.

I always found it odd that they were hitting him leadoff. Yeah, he can run and hit (or so we've been told), but if your bat is your better weapon, it would be better to hit lower in the order. Personally, I feel like Sanchez is a perfect candidate, and his two RBI triples in this last game helped his case. If Engel could do as much at the plate as he does in the field, I would have nominated him instead.

Or maybe Yoan is just going through what Alexei always did, which was struggle until the weather warmed up. If that's the case, you can't put him at the top of the lineup. Speed is fine, but the idea of a leadoff man is to get on base and set a tone for the rest of the lineup. What good is Yoan's speed if he's not able to use it on the basepaths? At a time when OBP is being emphasized more and more, every manager should be thinking about this. Hopefully, the thought has at least crossed Renteria's mind.

The first sentence in the last paragraph is the right one, especially since this is his first Chicago April ever.